The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) signed an agreement with Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. to manage its publication operation—formerly the Community College Press. R&L is one of the largest independent publishers and distributors in North America, offering publications in education, social sciences, humanities, and several other academic and professional areas. The company publishes simultaneously in print and e-book editions, and currently offers more than 15,000 e-books as a part of its inventory.

In response to the new partnership, AACC President and CEO Walter Bumphus stated, “AACC’s agreement with Rowman & Littlefield will allow us to better serve our customers by providing them with access to e-books that they can read using the device (e.g., via all platforms including Kindle, Nook, iBooks and Google Books) of their choice. We are delighted to be working with a company that has distinguished itself in the area of educational publications, and look forward to expanding our footprint in the publication area.”

As a part of the agreement, R&L will print, distribute, and maintain AACC’s existing inventory. The publishing company will also assist AACC in evaluating solicited manuscripts and will work with new authors to edit and refine manuscripts for publication. R&L will be responsible for reprints of existing AACC inventory.

R&L President and CEO Jed Lyons said, “Rowman & Littlefield’s ability to adapt and thrive through the mind-boggling pace of change that has resulted from the growth of e-books and internet retail, has created the perfect foundation for such a partnership to succeed. Through it, we see an exciting future for the AACC publishing program and the means to better serve community colleges with exciting new publications and ideas for many years.”